


Reality vs Expectation

by vaderina



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Mild Fluff, Percival Graves is a human, The Aurors are trolls, The Aurors mean well, They bet on everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 02:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11590740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: The Aurors take bets on how long it takes a new recruit to realise that their first impression of Percival might be wrong. THe only assumption that is correct is that the man is married to his work. So they try to set him up with various people (victims more than dates) to help him find love.





	Reality vs Expectation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Funkspiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Funkspiel/gifts).



> Not beta read.  
> Characters do not belong to me - only the typos and mistakes.
> 
> For the wonderful Funkspiel who has levelled up another year. Happy Birthday!

Whenever a new auror starts at the department they all have first impression and expectations about the people they meet. Sometimes they’re correct but other times they’re wrong. So wrong in fact that when a new person joins the team, the Senior Aurors take bets on how long it takes them to recognise their mistakes. And in what order. They have a secret list of expectations vs. reality and a lot of money changes hands as the new initiate discovers for themselves how wrong they were.

Usually the first thing a new auror assumed about their boss is his strict adherence to protocol. So for the first week they’re sharply dressed, call him Director or Boss. The Senior Aurors bribe everyone else to go along with it and Percival just rolls his eyes at their antics. He’s aware of their hazing and as long as it’s harmless he lets them get away with it. There are bets made about who will break habits first and when. It’s usually a week before someone hollers across the room a casual “hey Percival, come look at this” and everyone will as one turn to the new recruit and stare. It’s usually a gaping fish impression followed by stuttering, only a few had the guts to exclaim about addressing direct supervisors appropriately. Then a roar of laughter would ripple through the room, Percival would smile indulgently at them and ignore the ever so professional aurors getting their wallets out to cough up on bets lost.

The next few bets were usually up in the air. It was usually a tossup that depended on the new recruit. One safe bet was on Percival and faithful adherence to rules. Depending on the recruit it could be a few weeks or a few days before the more rebellious ones find out. It usually goes with the apprehension of a criminal but the recruit deems themselves to be above the law and proceeds to turn a blind eye or be more lenient than the law necessarily dictates. In the moment of their benevolence they will feel amazing, like they’re the kind justice that understands mere mortals. Then reality sets in when the report has to be filled out. Very few have tried to lie on their reports, those didn’t usually last long in the department. But the honest ones? Their name will be called out over the general noise of the bullpen in a firm, cool voice. The recruit would flinch (and money between other aurors would be exchanged once again) and hurry across between the desks and the door would close behind them. Laughter would once more rumble through the bullpen like a quiet thunderstorm on a spring evening.

Inside the office Percival would be sitting behind his desk comfortably, the offending report in front of him, fingers tracing the edges. The recruit would stand to attention, arms behind their backs like the auror academy taught them when reporting to a superior. Percival would wave them towards a chair and float a freshly brewed cup of coffee towards the quaking soul.

“Want to talk me through this?” Percival would ask, calm and soothing. After a few gulps the recruit would try and justify their actions while Percival would listen, his hands steepled in front of him, lips brushing against his fingertips as he nodded.

“Okay.” he’d say simply. Depending on the recruit they would either stutter, question him or sit in silence and stare at their boss until he sighed.

“You made the right call, I would have probably done the same as you. The law is there to protect, not punish. Remember that and use it with compassion like you had this time. I’ll always have your back on cases like this.” That was how a recruit would learn that despite appearances their boss was a lenient, kind man.

Another contender for the second revelation in terms of bets was the fact that their boss was a straight-laced professional. It was almost tradition that at the end of the four week probationary period the aurors all clubbed together to take the newest addition to their department out. By this point the recruit’s impression of Percival will have softened up a little, no longer terrified into performing their utmost best but rather wanting to do well to make him smile that proud little smirk of a job accomplished and well done. When the Great Friday Bash comes round (unless they’ve gone out to celebrate beforehand – be it birthdays, a successful closing of a big case, an anniversary, they weren’t a picky bunch and would celebrate almost anything together) the recruit would be surprised to find Percival joining them, first rounds traditionally on him. As the night would progress, he’d get as drunk as everyone else. If plied with enough giggle water he’d eventually try to teach his aurors how to line dance and the recruit would once again be left slack jawed with surprise at just how well their boss can move.

The next morning nobody would mention mass line dancing – the Senior Aurors had been out with Percival enough to have learnt the moves fairly well so they’d join him with wild abandon and roaring laughter. They were banned from several establishments as a result but New York was a large city, they could find endless more drinking hole to get barred from.

One thing that any new recruit would be certain of was that their new boss doesn’t tell jokes. They were correct but for all the wrong reasons. Percival loved a good joke as much as the next person and had a sense of humour when he had a chance to show it. His face would crinkle in mirth before laughter would bubble up his throat. On rare occasions he’d clutch the nearest surface to stop himself toppling over as his laughter petered out into silent shaking because it was all too much. Except he never seems to tell jokes. But it’s not for lack of trying. Every now and then he’ll start one he’d overheard somewhere in the coffee room. He never gets far though. He’s already holding back guffaws of laughter before he even gets to the punchline. By the time he gets there, he’s a giggling mess and nobody ever catches what the punchline is. In short, Percival Graves doesn’t tell jokes not because he has no sense of humour but because he can’t ever get to the end of one without ruining it.

The façade of professionalism holds many hidden pitfalls against recruits. Nobody expects a hidden talent to ruin his well cultivated image. The most memorable time a recruit had their illusions of their boss shattered early on was in the middle of a huge case involving the stakeout and smashing of a giant smuggling ring. They took it in shifts to take watch. Percival volunteered for first watch which everyone hated doing. That played into the recruit’s preconceptions of a boss who will shoulder the burned from his subordinates. Then it was time for shift change. Percival quietly woke the next two to take over, the recruit and a senior auror. A quick briefing later Percival settled down on the hard concrete floor. The recruit and the auror turned back to acknowledge one last thing. Only Percival’s eyes were shut, face lax with sleep as he was curled into a foetal position, knees almost up to his chest, arms curled up between knees and chest. It was endearing and the first time the recruit had seen him look vulnerable.

A second shock awaited them at guard duty change again. Percival had said to wake him if there was anything suspicious to report or even to just let him know that everything was okay. A light tap on his shoulder didn’t rouse him from sleep. A firm shake eventually woke him. Percival sat up, hair mussed and he looked around confused. Despite themselves the recruit found it difficult to resist cooing as the man tried to blink sleep from his eyes and remember just where he was. It took a surprisingly long time. The long slow blinks as he took in his subordinates crouching in front of him and reality slowly bleeding into his consciousness was quite a sight to behold. It was safe to say Percival not only liked his sleep but found it difficult to leave his bed behind each morning.

What was even more surprising and took even the Senior Aurors off guard sometimes was Percival’s ability to fall asleep anywhere at a moment’s notice. Usually he was focussed and to the point at work. But take him out somewhere and leave him to his own devices it was highly likely that he’ll have curled up somewhere unconventional and was dead to the world. Numerous times they’ve found him snoring away at the table in bars on a Friday evening and on once memorable occasion he’d somehow made a nest under the coatrack in the dark warmth which lead the aurors having to resort to tracking spells to eventually unearth him from his burrow.

It was almost common knowledge that Percival was married to his job. He made no secret of taking work home with him on occasion and threw himself wholehearted into cases. After a while everyone in the department starting from probationary aurors all the way up to Senior Aurors began to feel bad. They wanted him to be happy. He deserved to have someone who loved him. Thus began the great conspiracy of getting Percival on a date. At first he politely refused all offers of being set up with good friends, with sisters and one brave soul offered their not too recently bereaved mother for a more mature date. Every time Percival smiled and said he doesn’t date.

It became a game after so many failed attempts. They aurors and even the secretaries would group together to plan the next attempt. They’d find within their group a willing victim. Then they’d set Percival up for a dinner meeting. The one who know the victim would be there to greet Percival and make an excuse to leave him with their chosen woman. That night Percival smiled politely before he even sat down he explained that there must have been some confusion but why doesn’t the lady invite a few of her friends for a meal. The aurors will chip together to pay for the bill they run up as an apology for the inconvenience. He was out of the door before his auror had a chance to recover.

After so many failed attempts someone had a bright idea. Perhaps they’d not been successful in setting Percival up was because he just didn’t like women. Cue a long list of brothers, friends, uncles and cousins the aurors pooled together to choose from. They tried competent and work oriented by inviting a distant cousin to a meeting room and scheduling Percival for a meeting with him. Five minutes later the hour long get-to-know-you meeting had concluded and Percival shut his office door in their faces. The poor man he’d left behind didn’t say anything, just shrugged and left. So they tried for an exuberant and bubbly man. He just so happened to bump into Percival on one of their Friday night celebrations and offered to buy him a drink. Even on a night out, tipsy and having a good time Percival sweetly refused then disappeared to sleep in a dark corner behind the bar while the barman moved around him.

There was nothing left. The aurors had run out of ideas, ways to introduce Percival to any potential dates and they realised that while Percival humoured them out of respect for the poor victims, even he was losing patience. They never quite remembered whose excellent idea it was to fire-call his mother. The Senior Aurors grouped together and as soon as she picked up they were off, explaining how they only want the best for Percival and they’ve tried to get him out on dates. They didn’t get further than that. Mrs. Graves interrupted them with a terse interrogation of whether Percival had been going out on dates. She didn’t seem to listen to their explanation of how they were only attempted dates, instead she cut the call and left them staring blankly into the fire.

Everyone almost forgot about the incident, wrote it off as Mrs. Graves being a busy woman so she was short with them because she had better things to do. When the following day the door to the department sprang open to reveal Mrs. Graves striding through the bullpen like she owned it everybody froze. Percival came out to greet her with a smile. Nobody expected her to push him away from the hug he tried to give her and plant her hands firmly on her hips.

They watched with uncomfortable amazement as she launched into a tirade about dating behind backs, cheating and faithfulness. What was even worse was to watch the confusion, dejection and hurt make Percival’s face fall, his shoulders droop and he almost tried to curl in on himself in lost desperation. His mother ended his dressing down with a plaintive “if you weren’t happy or having problems, why didn’t you call me? We could have sorted it out.”

For the first time ever they saw Percival speechless as he stared at his mother with dark, empty baleful eyes. Nobody dared move except for a slight rustling in the corner from which Newt rose and approached the silent pair. He slung an arm casually around Percival’s waist and grinned at his mother.

“Hi Ma.” he said, casual as anything. The entire department watched in awe as he seemed to reassure Percival’s mother that everything was fine, they were still on track for Sunday dinner. When questioned about the dating nonsense that Mrs. Graves had to hear from his colleagues of all people Percival picked up the thread. He calmly and measuredly explained their misguided attempts at embroiling him in a romance because they couldn’t take no for an answer. He narrowed his eyes at the room at large with that statement. From there it turned into a half-hearted grumbling about know-it-alls and their meddling ways. Newt shut him up with a peck to the cheek and they saw Mrs. Graves out the door.

Once the door was shut behind her they turned as one back to the room. The temperature of the room dropped as they eyed everyone. All of a sudden everyone found things on their desks to be busy with but kept glancing up at the pair. They didn’t know how they had missed it until then, the way they moved through the room in sync spoke of a long time together. When they got to Percival’s office Newt leant in for a quick kiss and a smirk.

“No reason to hide it now.” He said. Percival eyed him with a thoughtful expression before yanking him in for a proper kiss that had everyone glancing away and blushing. When it ended their foreheads rested together.

“I suppose not.” Percival murmured. The slightly louder he added, “If only these unobservant useless idiots would stop interfering with my life when I asked them to stop. To call my mother behind my back like that was a low blow. The culprits will be on wand permit duty for at least a month.”

Nobody dared look up, all felt guilty.

“I suppose the department will be quite devoid of anyone except you.” Newt’s smile turned mischievous. “Which reminds me, you told me that the day there’s nobody else in the department will be the day you bend me-”

He was cut off by Percival’s hand slamming over his mouth.

“I,” he interrupted, looking at Newt seriously, “will see you for dinner. Now get going.”

He turned Newt round by his shoulders and playfully swatted him on the backside to get him moving. Newt threw him a mock glare over his shoulder before heading back to the desk he had come from.

“And if anybody tries to set me up again, they’ll have me, my husband and my mother to contend with.” Percival gritted out to the room at large and retreated into his office.

**Author's Note:**

> You know, I also post stuff on tumblr - head on over and come say hi, I'm @ladyoftheshrimp.


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